


don't be(long)

by bouenkyou



Series: at the batting center [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baseball, M/M, Mostly Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-26 16:18:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6246955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bouenkyou/pseuds/bouenkyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After boycotting club activities for some time because of the hellish training, both Chikara and Kazuhito decide they're ready to come back to the baseball team. Hisashi doesn't want to hear any of it, but Kazuhito wants to convince him and won't give up on his idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	don't be(long)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Telenovela](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telenovela/gifts).



> > Written for Susie/[@midoususie](midoususie.tumblr.com) for the [Rarepair Exchange](http://hqrarepairexchange.tumblr.com/)  
> 
> 
> I hope you like this story, even though they don't really play baseball, oops. The baseball AU prompt really resonated with me and frankly, I want to write more for this universe, so stay tuned~
> 
> Huge thanks for Isy, Dea and Tari for betaing, giving me advice and encouraging me, you rule!

Kazuhito tentatively approached the back of the bleachers—from this distance he could easily make out the Karasuno baseball team running laps under the sun while the temporary coach stared at them passively from the dugout. Coach Ukai was nowhere in sight, which meant the rumors were true. He wasn’t coaching for the team for now. Kazuhito counted the members and his stomach sank—once again he hadn't been the only one missing baseball practice. Chikara and Hisashi weren't there, either.

They hadn't spoken about baseball at all recently, and he understood that they were boycotting practice after all, but something kept coiling deep in his chest and belly every afternoon they were supposed to show up to club activities. The same feeling, an odd mix of guilt and nostalgia, had made him come here to spy on his team—former team, his mind viciously supplied, and he sighed heavily, making his way towards the school gate.

Other students, those without club activities, were also leaving the school grounds. Kazuhito could overhear flashes of cheerful conversations, plans to go to the nearest karaoke booth or the game center. An involuntary sigh left his lips when he remembered his first couple of days after rebelling against Coach Ukai's hellish training.

He, Chikara and Hisashi had visited several game centers, sung karaoke for hours, and gone to the cinema several times in a week. After their allowances had run out, they had resolved to hanging out at Kazuhito's house, but after some time, that got old, too, and neither of them seemed to have the energy to hang out anymore. At some point they found out Coach Ukai had collapsed and was retiring, which meant that it was the perfect opportunity for them to go back, but neither of them mentioned baseball and their days continued like so.

After crossing through the school gate, he checked his cellphone in case the guys wanted to hang out. He had no new messages.

He opened his conversation with Hisashi and quickly typed a text. They hadn't seen each other outside of school in about a week. After re-reading the text, he hesitated over the 'send' button and simply locked his phone, saving the message as a draft. On the way home, he walked past Chikara's house before retracing his steps and ringing the bell. To his surprise, Chikara wasn't home, and his mom told Kazuhito he was at his club activities.

His guilt doubled at the idea that, because of the dumb rebellion they concocted, his friend was lying to his family. He was thankful that his parents worked until late and no one had caught up on the fact he was ditching club. Not that his parents would tell him anything, but with how insistent he was about going to Karasuno to play baseball, it was a little shameful that he had given up so quickly.

He arrived home quite early. Since he had time, he finished his homework, took a bath, and flicked the TV channels until early evening. The upside of missing club activities was that he had more time to do things at home other than homework, but he realized that he didn't even have much to do, so he got bored pretty quickly if he wasn't hanging out with his friends. He considered going to the convenience store to get some of his favorite pork buns as dinner, but the possibility of meeting the team made him decide otherwise.

In the end, he put the teapot on the stove and pulled a noodle cup from the cupboard. He was getting tired of noodles, but at least that was better than having to explain his teammates why he had stopped going to practice.

The next time Kazuhito spied the team from behind the bleachers, he counted an extra person than they had the day before. Chikara was trailing behind the rest of the team with a tire tied around his waist. Kazuhito smiled to himself with relief. Yet, he couldn't muster the courage to walk towards the dugout. He left school again in the same fashion as the previous day, except he didn’t check his phone. He patiently waited until early evening, when he knew practice was over, and texted Chikara. After some back and forth texting he stood up from his bed, pulled out his practice uniform and glove from the back of his closet and prepared everything to show up to baseball practice the next day.

The following morning he could barely concentrate in class. His whole being was a ball of nervous excitement. Chikara shared a knowing smile with him during lunch break. While they ate, they quietly spoke about what had happened when Chikara showed up, and Kazuhito casually asked Hisashi if he wanted to join them.

“Um, I think I’ll pass,” Hisashi said, walking away from them. Kazuhito stared at his back as it got farther from them. Chikara smiled awkwardly.

“I’m sure he’ll come around at some point; he was one of the most passionate about baseball during tryouts, remember?”

Kazuhito nodded and smiled back, but deep down he wasn’t so sure about that. Hisashi loved baseball, Kazuhito knew that for a fact, but his performance during tryouts had been about average and, while Chikara and Kazuhito had been accepted as second string members, like most first years, Hisashi had been devastated to find out he was part of the bench.

The first string lineup consisted of third year seniors and a few second years—the relief pitcher, Sugawara; his battery partner, Sawamura; and first baseman, Azumane—and, to everyone’s surprise, one first year, the shortstop, Nishinoya. To Kazuhito’s understanding, at this point, it looked like it was impossible for Hisashi to climb to the second string, much less the first string, so he was giving up on something he loved.

Kazuhito, of course, wasn’t going to allow that. He was going to prove to Hisashi how even bench players were a necessity to any sports team, and how he could become a player as long as he didn’t give up.

Giving up seemed like a lovely possibility later, though, when he was vomiting his pre-practice snack in one of the dusty corners of the field after running half of the sixty laps that were assigned to him as punishment for skipping practice. Chikara thumped his back sympathetically and handed him a bottle of water and a pack of tissues, then went back to batting practice. Kazuhito was trembling when he finished his sixtieth lap—his muscles gave out and he crumbled in front of the dugout the moment he was done. The sun had already set and most team members had gone home. Only the regular and relief batteries were still practicing in the bullpens, which were practically the only illuminated part of the field now that night had fallen. The temporary coach stared at him and smiled.

“Don’t miss practice tomorrow, Narita.”

Kazuhito croaked a weak ‘yes,’ but his face spoke the determination his voice couldn’t find.

Concentrating on baseball again meant putting on hold his immediate goal of pulling Hisashi back onto the team. The missed practices took a toll on him and he realized that, while the three of them were away, the rest of the first years had improved rapidly. He had to practically double his practice time if he wanted to reach their levels soon. He was assigned the left field, so now he was busy practicing long throws day in and out. The sounds on the field were a great comfort, however—the metallic clunk of a metal bat hitting a baseball, the deep echo of a thwack when the same baseball hit the catcher’s mitt, and the bench players’ cheers as they ran laps around the width of the field—these reminded him that he had made the correct choice and he wanted to remind Hisashi that he belonged to this field, too.

Chikara seemed keen on improving his batting average and sometimes he invited Kazuhito to accompany him in his practices during lunchtime. Kazuhito didn’t have the heart to say no, seeing as he could use some batting practice himself anyway, but usually this resulted in not seeing Hisashi for days. That made him strangely anxious, like the guilt he felt when they were missing practice, but this was heavier and closer to his heart than to the pit of his stomach.

Then, on Sunday, he got a text from Hisashi to hang out. He felt exhausted from the week and had morning practice, too, but a part of him was so ecstatic that his rest be damned. He typed a quick reply and a half hour later he was at the nearest convenience store, the designated meeting place. He spotted Hisashi from a block and he was so excited to meet him, his legs quickly trotted towards the other boy.

“Hey, what’s up?” he said, clapping Hisashi on the shoulder.  Hisashi smiled at him.

“Not much , just felt like hanging out,”

They walked back to the convenience store slowly, bought some drinks and snacks, and sat in the parking lot side-by-side. They talked for hours—mostly about videogames and the TV shows that Hisashi had watched during the week—but when it was Kazuhito’s turn to share his part, an awkward silence fell upon them.

“It’s fine if you want to tell me about baseball practice, I’m not so immature that I can’t celebrate your little victories with you,” Hisashi said quietly, bumping shoulders with him.

“Sorry, you’re right,” Kazuhito said with relief. “I’ve improved my long throw control and you know? Chikara’s batting average is better, now. If we keep it up, first string won’t be a long shot dream.”

Hisashi contentedly nodded, agreeing.

“You should also come back, and the three of us can enter the first string together,” Kazuhito added in his excitement, but Hisashi’s contentment instantly morphed into a frown.

“I’m not planning on going back,” he muttered coldly.

“Why not? You love baseball, I think if you—”

“Can you drop this? If not, I’m going home,” Hisashi stood up, putting his hands on his pockets, and Kazuhito mirrored him.

“I don’t want you to go home, Hisashi. I like hanging out with you, but I also want to play baseball with you.”

Hisashi let out a deep sigh at Kazuhito’s insistence and turned around.

“I’m sorry; I don’t want to talk about this. I’ll text you later,” he raised his arm and fluttered his hand as a manner of farewell and continued walking on the direction of his house.

Kazuhito sighed deeply, too, as he watched Hisashi’s form getting smaller and smaller in the distance. That had been a disaster, but he didn’t want to give up on this one thing. It probably seemed selfish, as he was disrespecting his friend’s wish to let it go, but he knew Hisashi was selling himself short by not wanting to stay because he was currently benched.  

During the next baseball practice, he approached Chikara for advice.

“Hey, what made you want to come back?” he asked as they were doing their stretches. Chikara frowned thoughtfully, but nodded, acknowledging the question. A few long beats passed between them and Kazuhito thought for a moment he wasn’t going to reply.

“I met someone who reminded me how determined I am about baseball.” Chikara stood up and motioned Kazuhito to follow him.

_ Someone? _

Kazuhito felt mild curiosity, but didn’t comment on it. They both picked bats from a bucket and walked towards the side of the diamond, near second base, to practice their swings.

“Why do you ask?” Chikara huffed in between his swings. Kazuhito took a moment to correct his own balance before resuming his swings.

“I’m thinking Hisashi should come back, too, but I’m not sure how to convince him,” he panted. “So I was wondering what brought you back.”

Chikara lowered the bat and stared at him pensively.

“What brought  _ you _ back?” he inquired, grinning.

Kazuhito stopped swinging, too, and huffed out a laugh. His labored breathing sounded too loud to his own ears and he swore the whole team could hear his heartbeats.

“Guilt?” he ventured, wondering himself. “I mean, I love baseball, I want to play, but I came back because I felt guilty and anxious for abandoning the team.”

Chikara chuckled and squeezed Kazuhito’s shoulder.

“I’m sure there’s a way to motivate him, but you know him better than I do.” He corrected his stand and started swinging the bat once again before continuing. “If you remind him of the reason why he joined the team, maybe he’ll reconsider.”

Kazuhito nodded, his mind instantly machinating a plan.

**

He texted Hisashi the following Sunday, suggesting that they hang out. Hisashi agreed, which was a relief—they hadn’t talked at all since their argument about the club and Kazuhito had been anxious about their friendship. He didn’t think they could fall apart so easily, so quickly, but he did believe they could drift apart slowly, and that sounded more painful than an abrupt end to their friendship.

When they met at the convenience store, like the previous time, Kazuhito beckoned Hisashi to follow him and silently walked towards a place where they used to hang out a lot.

“Where are we going?” Hisashi asked casually, but Kazuhito was nervous that he wouldn’t want to go if he told him.

“You’ll see when we get there,” he replied lightly, but Hisashi frowned and stopped walking.

“You’re taking me to the batting center, aren’t you?”

Kazuhito hung his head, guilty as charged.

“Won’t you come?” he practically pleaded. “I swear this is the last time I’ll bring this up, and if you don’t change your mind and won’t come back, I’ll leave you alone.”

Hisashi looked troubled, but he sighed and nodded, resuming his steps towards the batting center.

When they got there, Kazuhito challenged him.

“If I hit a homerun, I want you to come back to the team. If you don’t want to, you should hit a homerun, too.” He looked determined as he grabbed a bat and walked towards ones of the unoccupied cages. Hisashi stopped him before he could get in.

“What’s that?! It’s totally unfair,” he protested. “Your batting average is better than mine, there’s no way I can beat you.”

“If you want me to give up, show me your determination to abandon baseball through baseball.”

Hisashi chuckled at Kazuhito’s seriousness.

“What the hell, that’s ridiculous.” He pulled Kazuhito back, towards a bench. They sat down and Hisashi turned towards him, eyes serious.

“Why are you so keen on my return to the team? I don’t think the team needs me. I like baseball, yes; I still play it, in fact, but really casually. Just playing catch with someone or hitting some balls is good enough for me.”

Kazuhito listened impassively and thought for a few seconds what to say that could be convincing enough.

“I think the team needs you. If it wasn’t like that, you would have been completely rejected, not put on the bench. That means you have some talent, but you have to polish it. I believe you can become a great asset to the team eventually, given that you don’t give up.”

“You’re still going on about the team needing me? With players like Nishinoya or even Chikara and you, I don’t stand a chance.” Hisashi said weakly, and that almost broke Kazuhito’s heart.

“Don’t compare yourself to the other players, ok? I’m also an inferior player compared to Nishinoya, but I won’t give up because of that. I still want to fight on the field someday, and I would like it if I could fight alongside you, too.” He thought perhaps his words were getting on the sappy side, but he continued nonetheless.

“Maybe I’m being selfish, but I want you to be on the team both for yourself and for me. So I can share time with you, and so we can improve together, and cheer together and celebrate victory together. I’ve got to say that I’ve missed spending time with you since we don’t do that much anymore.”

Kazuhito lowered his head, feeling like he was now ranting. Hisashi didn’t say anything for a long while, so Kazuhito peered at his face and what he saw really surprised him.

Hisashi was looking at him, bewilderment clear on his face. His right hand covered part of his face, but Kazuhito could clearly see a pink flush covering his cheeks. At the sight, he felt his own face heat up.

“Uh,” Hisashi chuckled nervously. “Dude, that was really cheesy.”

Mortification washed over Kazuhito and he ducked his head, feeling his face blooming red as a heat wave of embarrassment hit him full force.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” he murmured, but laughter reached his ears and a hand pat him on the shoulder.

“No, don’t be. I’m glad you told me that. Truth is I missed you too, ok?” he admitted. His voice cracked at the last part, and he sounded nervous. Kazuhito couldn’t see his face since he was looking down, so he attributed it to the embarrassment of admitting something so bold. 

“So that means you’ll come back?” Kazuhito tentatively spoke, hoping Hisashi would reconsider.

“Well, since you want me there so much, how can I say no?” he said, sniggering.

Kazuhito blushed. When Hisashi put it that way, it sounded quite embarrassing. Like a confession or something. He sat up straight and bumped shoulders with his friend.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t let it get to your head,” he joked, shoving Hisashi playfully. Hisashi simply grinned wider.

“Now let’s hit some balls,” Hisashi stood up and grabbed a second bat from a box at the entrance and walked towards the closest empty batting cage. They stayed there until nighttime. When they walked back, Kazuhito commented that Hisashi’s swing had gotten much better.

During the next practice, when Hisashi threw up in the middle of his eighty penalty laps, Kazuhito was there to thump him in the back and hand him water and tissues. He also went through the trouble of picking up his unconscious body when he passed out on the seventy eighth lap. The club advisor helped him pull Hisashi into the dugout and they laid him down to rest. The temporary coach stared at him and hummed thoughtfully.

“I thought he was going to give up, but he ran until he passed out. This boy might be a monster,” he chuckled, shaking Hisashi’s shoulder until he came back to life. “I think I went a little overboard with the punishment, sorry.”

Hisashi nodded weakly and smiled.

“Thank you, coach.”

Everyone went back to their affairs, but Kazuhito sat next to Hisashi’s lying body and fanned him with his cap.

“That feels nice,” Hisashi croaked weakly. “That was hell, but I’m glad it’s over.”

Kazuhito chuckled.

“I only had to do sixty laps. I actually threw up more than once, unlike you. You’re strong.” He bent over, his eyes meeting Hisashi.

“I’m glad you’re back,” he whispered.

Hisashi covered half of his upper face with his arms, but Kazuhito could see his broad smile.

“I’m glad to be back.” 


End file.
